Apparatus for coating wire



'(No Model.)

y No. 241,742.

L. Apparatus for Coating Wire.

L. SMITH.

Patented May 17,1881.

E2 me 3.

UNITED STATESY PATENT OFFICE.

LUTHER' L. SMITH, OF ANSONIA, CNNECTICUT.

APPARATUS-Fon CoATlNe WIRE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of `Letters Patent No. 241,742, dated May 17, 1881.

Application filed December' 22, 1880. (No model.) l

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, LUTHER L. SMTTH, of Ansonia, Connecticut, have invented certain Improvements in Apparatus for lll'ectin g the Uniform Electro-Eeposition of Met-alupon Coiled lVire, ot whichthe followingis a specitication.

My improvements relate to apparatus adapted for employment in carrying ont my process ot' electroplating'coiled wire, one ot' the essential features of which consists iu feeding thewire which is to be plated progressively through the electrolytic solution in a helical path, the several convolutions of the coil being partially or wholly submerged in the electrolytic solution, and bein g made to rotate upon -a lio'rizon'talaxis, whereby the motion of the wire in passing through the solution is substantially like that ot' the thread of a screw which' is being inserted into oipit-lnlrawn from a stationary object.

My present invention consists in the combination, with an elongated tank of suitable width an d depth, of ahorizoutal metallic roller, which extends longitudinally across thetank, and upon which the several convolutlons of the coil ot' wire are hung, and which is connected with a dyn amo-electric machine or other sourceV of electricity. This roller may be provided with a spiral groove, or with parallel circumferential grooves, for the purpose of separating thel several convolutions ot' the coil from each other; or, preferably, the roller may be smooth, and horizontal guiding racks may be ported, respectively near theopposite sides of the tank, in position to cause the teeth ot the racks to enter the spaces between the convolutions of thc coil on either side of the roller, and thus separate them and cause them, by the rotation ot' the roller on which they are hung, to progress across .the tank longitudinally in a helical path. The guiding-racks are made ot' wood, and are preferably arranged to iioat upon the surface of the plating-solution. Any number of coils of wiremay he joined end to end, and thus successively plated by a continuous operation.

The accompanying drawings represent my improved apparatus as applied to the purpose of etl'ecting the uniform electrodepositionot copper upon iron or steel wire.

sup Vthe projecting` end E In these drawings, Figure 1 is a top view of lthe apparatus, showing thetank provided upon each side with a row ot' anodcs, and showing the guiding-racks upon each side, and the spirallycoiled -wire hung upon the impellingroller. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus with a portion ot' the side of the tank broken out. Fig. Slis a transverse vertical section throughihe line a; .fo on Fig.v 1. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section 'of the device for joining the coils successively to each other.

The drawings represent a tank, A, ot' any de' siredlength, near the sides of which two rows ot' auodes, B, arerespcctivelysuspended. Immediately ,adjoining the rows ot anodes', ou either side, are the wooden racks C, the teeth c of which proiectinto the spaces between the con volutionsl) ofthe wire which is to beplated, and which, it will be seen, is hung upon the horizontal impelli'ng-rolier E, mounted in suitable bearings at the ends of the tank, and provided with the pulley e for receiving the belt e', by which rotation is imparted to it. The impelling-roller E projects,considerably beyond each end ot the tank, thc projection atone end, a, of the tank being for the purpose ot' holding the coil of wire preparatory to its introduction into the tank, and the projection at the opposite end, a', being for .the purpose ot' receiving the wire from the tank after it has been plated.

The operation ot the upparatusis as follows: The coil ot wire D' to be plated is hung upon ot' the im peiling-roller, and as the roller rotates oneend ot' the coil is carried into the tank and guided downward through the successive notches ot' the guidingrack upon one side ot' the roller, and upward through the corresponda g notches ofthe guiding-rack upon the opposite side ot' the roller, and finallyr at the opposite end of thc tank yis carried out of the solution, and isreceived upon the projecting end E2 of the roller; The impelling-roller is provided with suitable collars to preventit from moving endwisc in its bearings. In, operation the coil of wire is gradually fed through-thesolution by the continued rotation of the roller at a rate ot` speed which is regulated with reference to such prolongation of the exposure ofthe wire to electrolytic action as may be necessary to obtain a deposit IOO of the desired thickness. When the coil has been nearly all fed into the tank, another coil may be hung upon the end E' of the impellingroller, andthe end of the second coil joined to the end of the first coil, preferably by a thin metallic sleeve, G, in the opposite ends of which the ends -of the wires are tightly fastened by riveting or otherwise. A pieceof black thread or silk, G', is tied around thesleeve to indicate the joint, and the earlier ccmolut-icnsof `the second coil thus follow the later convolutions of the first coil in their path through the solu tion. rlhe operation of plating is thereafter continuous, the coils being hun g upon the end E' of the impelling-roller and joined to each other successively, as described.

By this mode of conducting a series of coils of wire throughthe electrolytie solution every part of` each coil is subjected successively to the same set of conditions, and variability in the energy with which electro-deposition is carried on in ditterentqmrtsof the solution will make no difference in the thickness ofthe deposit upon dierent parts of the coils, because all parts of all the coiis are successively carried through the same parte of the solution, and are exposed for equal periods to all the variable conditions which may exist in the different parts of the solution through which the wire is conducted.

I do not herein claim the process oi' electroplating wire which I. have described, ner the product thereof-wire covered with a plating electro-deposition of metal upon coiled wire, a, tank ot' any desired length, for containing the electrolytic solution, in which the several convolutions ot' the coil of wire are partially or; wholly submerged, in combination witha hori-v Zonta-l roller upon which the several convolutions of the coil are hung, and guiding devices for separating the several convolutions of the coil frorneach other, and mechanism forcausing the rotation of the roller, whereby the wire may 'be-fed progressively through the solution in ahelical path, substantially as described.

2. The tank A, adapted to contain an elec trolytic solution, provided with the auodes B and the guiding-racks C, in combination with a horizontal roller, E, as and furthe purpose set forth.

3. The tank A, adapted to contain an elec trolytic solution, in combination with theroller E, projecting outward from the tank A at both ends, and mechanism for effecting the rotation of the roller E, substantially as und Vfor the purpose set forth.

LUTHER L. SMITH.

Witnesses:

W. G. BENHAM, FRANK S. TERRY. 

